


Letters of the Past

by 1TeaBinch



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Post Season 5, princess survival guide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:15:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26207032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1TeaBinch/pseuds/1TeaBinch
Summary: So I came home from work the other week just feeling emotional and in the mood for writing and slapped this fic out in like an hour. After a bit of editing we have this. It's a small little post season 5 fic referencing the princess survival guide, because I saw a tumblr post about a specific part that made me very emotional.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 47





	Letters of the Past

It's a lovely day in Brightmoon. The evening sun is setting, coloring the room in a soft glow. 

She's sprawled out on the large windowsill. The residual warmth of the day still blanketing her pleasantly as her split eyes take in the view.

Looking around her and Adora's shared room brings a lazy smile to her face. It's just her right now. Adora having left earlier in the day with Sparkles and Arrow, and Melog tagging along.

Her smile grows at the recollection. When Adora asked her if she could bring Melog with them.

"Replacing me already, Adora?" She had teased. Once there might’ve been a bite to the words, but now, there’s only a gentle teasing.

"No! It's just, you looked so peaceful, I didn't want to ruin it." Which was sweet enough, but the real killer was the mumbled, "this way I'd still have a piece of you with me." That followed.

Even the memory of it brings back a delightful warmth to her chest. Adora standing there, eyes averted as she twiddled her fingers, a small pout on her face.

Catra couldn’t help the tender smile she gave Adora.

Catra stretches out,her arm comes to hang off the windowsill, just as it slides down she feels ridge in the wall.

Normally she'd think nothing of cracks in the wall, but this is Brightmoon. Everything here is perfect and smooth.

Climbing down from her perch, Catra takes in the wall, and notices a crease in its otherwise perfect craftsmanship.

Using her claw, she gently pries at the crease until, with a small thud, the bit of the wall comes off. A single panel, and hiding behind it, a small cluster of notebooks.

Catra takes them out while looking at the covers. They’re all unmarked.

Flipping one open, Catra is greeted with the tell tale handwriting of the light of her life.

It looks like a journal of her time with the Rebellion.

Skimming through, she can see the initial rigid structure of the journal give way. Where the first pages are written like a field report, describing the oddities of Brightmoon. They slowly descend into ramblings about new foods or sights.

It's incredibly endearing to see how much even little things like cupcakes or local wildlife made such an impression.

Catra figures that maybe she shouldn't be snooping through these, but they're so adorable, she can't help it.

Finally, she gets to the last one, sitting underneath the small pile.

Flipping it open, Catra's stomach drops. It's so unlike the rest of them. 

The first few pages have what looks like the start of an entry, not unlike the start of the first one, but the few words that were there are written over.

Curiosity now peaked, Catra flips through. More and more pages with generally unfinished bits of words. Oddly enough, some of them look smudged, like water stains. A few are actually finished. Talking about Weaver, and nightmares. How the dark scares her a lot these days, how tired she feels being She-Ra.

“Alone.” That's it for one of the pages. Just the single word in big, messy letters.

Catra's veins had long since gone cold, the water stains finally making sense. 

"Oh, Adora."

This journal was under the rest on purpose, to hide her pain, to hide the tears Adora didn't want anyone to see. It breaks Catra's heart.

It's a little past the halfway mark that the pages stop. A final page, full, unlike the rest.

"Dear Catra," it begins.

"You are my enemy now, and you always will be. I know that now. All this time, I had hope. Hope that you would see the light. Hope that you would realize that Etheria is a beautiful place that needs to be saved, and not destroyed."

Catra's chest twists painfully, but she continues reading, unable to stop.

"I have no more hope now, and that makes me sad. So sad. Because I miss you, Catra, and I will always miss you."

Catra swipes at her eyes, willing the tears away. She can't cry about this. She caused this, it's not fair.

"I miss your smile." The words force a choked sob from Catra. 

"I miss the gleam in your eye when you would beat me in a race during training. I miss laughing with you when we would play a prank on one of the other cadets in the barracks." 

Catra's tears force their way out as she reads. Memories of a lifetime ago flashing through her mind.

“I even miss you snoring in the bunk above me.” 

It hurts. Words never should hurt like this, Catra thinks.

“Those are the things I remember when I think about you. I’m going to try to remember the good things about you, instead of the bad ones. Because those break my heart.” 

Catra’s tears are streaming now, clouding her vision. “I’m sorry things ended up like this. I really am. But even if we could go back in time, I wouldn’t do things any other way. 

Love,   
Adora.”

She can’t hold back the sobs that follow. Her falling tears staining this last page.

“It’s my fault. I did this to her. If I had just-”

It’s then that the door slams open. And standing in the open space, the only person Catra can’t bear to see right now.

“Catra? Catra, what happened? Are you okay?” Adora says as she rapidly crosses the room and pulls Catra into a tight embrace.

“W-why? Why are you here? Why are you being so nice to me?” Catra pleads, arms stuck to her side, too scared to return the affection Adora gives her so easily.

It’s then that Adora pulls back, looking at the notebooks on the ground. And the one Catra was looking at.

“Oh… Oh, Catra, it’s okay now, we’re okay.” She says, cupping Catra’s face in her hands, making sure to look in her eyes.

Gentle. Even after all of it, Adora’s still so gentle, and it breaks something deep inside of Catra then.

“How can you just say that? After everything I did? I hurt so many people. I hurt you.” Adora can hear the pleading in Catra’s voice. Can see the pleading in her eyes. Begging for any relief.

“Oh, Catra. I know you did.” Catra’s entire body tenses at the words. “But, I hurt you too. You were in so much pain, and I left you there. And I know that doesn’t make it okay, but I forgive you. Do you know why?”

Catra doesn’t respond, just shakes her head no, teeth chewing into her bottom lip.

“Because you chose to be better.” Catra sobs in relief immediately at the admission. “You, Catra, changed. You tried and continue to try and be better, and I’m so proud and happy. Because now you’re here, with me again. And it’s all i’ve ever wanted, Catra.”

Gently, Adora pulls Catra’s head into the crook of her neck, hand holding the back of her head. “You’re all i’ve ever wanted, Catra.”

Those words break what’s left of Catra’s crumbling walls and she wraps her arms around Adora, clinging to her as her sobs start anew.

And Adora, Adora holds her. She doesn’t push away, or make her feel guilty. She just holds her, and gives her the comfort that she’s always wanted. And Catra thinks, maybe this is enough, maybe it’ll finally be okay.


End file.
